THE LOWDOWN: The race is 100 miles less, and the track is one mile shorter and narrower through the turns, but the racing will be no less intense at Las Vegas than it was last week in California. In 2003, no one knew how the progressive banking would change the racing at Homestead, but it transformed that race from a snoozer to one of the most exciting on the circuit and the new configuration at Vegas should do the same. One thing is certain — this isn't a "cookie-cutter" track any longer.

"Cousin Carl" is back in top form on the two-mile tracks. After getting progressively better in every single race, winning seemed inevitable until he was stranded down the grid by rain at Michigan in 2006 and suffered through an uncharacteristically bad race at California last February. Now in his past four attempts on these tracks, he's swept the top 10, won twice and finished second on another occasion. That's reason enough to do a back flip.

Here are the top 12 in the standings and how they’ve raced at Las Vegas.

1. Kyle Busch
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 4.7 in three starts

Busch had the opportunity to leave for Las Vegas as the points leader in all of NASCAR's top series. He narrowly missed the Nationwide pinnacle but has not finished worse than fourth all year.

2. Ryan Newman
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 20.0 in three starts

Newman's 10th at California may not have set the world on fire, but it was his first top-10 on a two-mile track since February 2005. He's been better at Vegas, scoring top-10s in four of his past six tries.

3. Tony Stewart
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 12.7 in three starts

Stewart struggled with his handling last week but came on strong at the end to score a top-10. The two-milers are not his bailiwick, however, so he should do much better at Vegas with seven top-12s in the past eight races.

4. Kurt Busch
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 15.0 in three starts

An unscheduled pit stop nearly derailed Busch's California effort, but he battled back to finish 13th. That is his sixth consecutive top-15 dating back to Atlanta last fall, giving him momentum at his hometown track.

5. Carl Edwards
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 15.3 in three starts

Edwards should savor his victory at California, because Vegas has not been so kind. In three career starts there, he has yet to crack the top five and is likely to finish outside the top 10.

6. Kasey Kahne
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 25.7 in three starts

Midway through 2007, Gillette-Evernham Motorsports found their gremlin. The nose geometry was way off, but the new tightly regulated template on NASCAR's car seems to have corrected those problems.

7. Kevin Harvick
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 14.3 in three starts

There was a common theme at California last week: Drivers who typically struggled there had strong runs, and Harvick snapped a five-race streak of finishes outside the top 10 with an eighth.

8. Jimmie Johnson
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 1.0 in three starts

Johnson can write his name in the record books by winning four consecutive races on a track hosting only one race per year. Last year, Greg Biffle failed to accomplish the feat at Homestead.

9. Greg Biffle
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 10.0 in three starts

Biffle has been slow and steady during the first two races of the year, finishing 10th at Daytona and 15th at California, which is pretty much how he finished last season as well.

10. Jeff Burton
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 13.0 in three starts

Last year, Burton got off to one of the strongest starts of his career with eight consecutive top-15s, but most of those were 10th or better. In 2008, he's finished 13th and 12th, which isn’t quite as impressive.

11. Brian Vickers
Three-year average finish at Las Vegas: 32.5 in two starts

What a difference a year makes. Vickers failed to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 and languished in the points all season. He has to hold his breath this week, however, since he also failed to qualify at Vegas.

If not for a 100-point penalty, this position would belong to Robby Gordon, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Truex jumped up seven spots in the standings on the strength of a sixth at California.